Mrs. Seager cradled the hot coffee like it was a flower waiting to bloom.
Her aged fingers wrapped around the cardboard cup, reaching around to touch her own fingertips. She stared down into the hot drink, loathing herself for being in this situation. But it was, after all, her own doing.
Her daughter was shy and introverted, and after the death of her father several years ago, fuelled by loneliness, Mrs. Seager had allowed her to become even more so. She’d loved the fact that her daughter had chosen to stay in on the weekends and spend time with her rather than go out.
Christine had always been shy. She’d never been a popular girl in high school. Neither sporty nor nerdy, and as such never quite fitting in with any group of girls. She was pretty, and not in the way a mother should think her child is pretty, but pretty as in her features suited her heart shaped face with ease, and her slender figure caressed her clothes in all of the right places. But her own timidness had her withdrawing away from any advances she had received, at least until recently.
Mrs. Seager had seen a subtle change in her daughter’s behaviour the past months since working in the Medco’ pharmacy, and though the thought of her daughter meeting someone and leaving her behind had frightened her, she’d known that it was time. Her daughter was a young woman, and as such she needed to do what all young women did.
So, she’d turned a blind eye to the change in behavior and tried to be happy for her daughter’s future. At least until it became apparent who Christine had taken a liking to.
“Christine, she’s a good girl,” Mrs. Seager said as she looked up at Elijah, waiting for him to acknowledge the fact she had stated before continuing to speak. “She would never hurt someone intentionally.”
“If I may, Mrs. Seager, I believe that too,” Elijah agreed.
The deep rumble of Elijah’s voice echoed off the walls of the interview room. He glanced at the mirror on one wall and wondered if Paul had allowed Annie in to watch the interview take place. He’d left it to Paul’s discretion, knowing he could trust his friend and partner.
Mrs. Seager brought the cup to her lips, took a miniscule sip and then rested it back on the table in front of her.
“She thinks she’s in love,” she let out a soft laugh. “Can you believe that?” The color had returned to her cheeks and she looked at Elijah catching his eye and forcing her trust on him. “You, you’re a good man, aren’t you?”
Elijah forced a smile to his tight features. “I’d like to think so.”
“Everyone makes mistakes, don’t they?” she continued on.
Elijah had the feeling she knew about his affair with Delores, and that was the tipping point in all of this. Because if she knew, then that could have only come from one source—Christine. And from there all roads led back to Michael Stanton.
“I believe, Mrs. Seager, that not all mistakes are in fact mistakes. Sometimes what starts out as a mistake, becomes the very thing that you want, the thing that you had been looking for,” he said, trying to hit home with his point.
“And sometimes the thing that you want might be your downfall,” Mrs. Seager whispered, her eyes filling with tears again.
“That’s also true,” he said. “But there’s always a chance to make things right.”
The tears in her eyes spilled down her wrinkled cheeks. “Is there?” she sobbed.
Elijah nodded firmly. “Yes, always.”
“A redemption of sorts?” she asked
Elijah nodded, and then waited patiently. The seconds ticked by as she tried to compose herself. Her sad expression reminding him of his own mother. The seconds turned into minutes, until eventually Elijah cleared his throat ready to prompt her onwards when she finally spoke.
“It was Christine, my Christine,” she said, looking back down at her coffee, her embarrassment and shame apparent.
“What was?” Elijah asked, having already worked it out but deciding to play dumb for a moment longer.
“The break in, at Medco’. It was Christine.” Mrs. Seager swallowed. “It’s not her fault, truly, she’s been led astray. I told you she’s a good girl really.”
“And I told you that I believe that,” Elijah began. “But breaking and entering, theft, none of those things are the actions of a good girl, as you put it. So I’m going to need you to explain some more.”
She nodded and took a breath, a soft shudder wracking her body. “Love,” she said looking up. “It’s always love isn’t it?” She smiled. “A young girl’s heart is ill equipped for her first heartbreak, or her last.”
“Who broke your daughter’s heart, Mrs. Seager?” Elijah’s body was coiled tightly, his muscles tense with eagerness. He knew that one wrong move or a push too far would stop her in her tracks. And he needed her to keep talking. Needed it more than he needed air or a damn heartbeat.
This was her daughter, her only daughter, and the last remaining member of her family as far as he could see. And she knew that was she was going to tell him was going to land her daughter in prison. But just like deep down the misled Christine was, Mrs. Seager was also a good woman.
“I don’t know, not really, he signs everything with an M.”
“But you have your suspicions?”
